personal selling skills in international sales...•comment on what the customer said. –oh yes,...

UEF // University of Eastern Finland

Personal selling skills in international sales

University Lecturer, Accreditation Manager Jonna Koponen, Ph.D.

University of Eastern Finland, Business School

Teacher – Introducing myself

• Jonna Koponen, University Lecturer,

Accreditation Manager, Ph.D. in Speech

Communication. Postgraduate

Certificate in Education.

• Teaching communication at

undergraduate and postgraduate levels

for 15 years (Finland, UK, France, Japan).

• Cultural director at the City of Oulu;

various tasks of customer service.

• Consulting several firms on

communication, negotiation, personal

selling & sales management.

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 211.6.18

Teacher – Introducing myself

• Research e.g. on

– Culture & customer relationships

development in B2Bsales

– Culture & consumer-seller interaction in

B2C sales

– Business communication education, Sales

Training, Medical students’ communication

skills training

• Editor 2017-2018 in a peer-reviewed

journal Prologi

• Publications e.g. in Industrial Marketing

Management, Simulation & Gaming, Health

Education, Communication Teacher



A definition of selling

”Selling is the

phenomenon of human-

driven interaction between

and within individuals /

organizations in order to

bring about economic

exchange within a value-

creating context.”

Dixon, A.L. & Tanner, J.F.(Jr.) 2012

11.6.18 4

Intercultural communication in sales

• In the current sales and marketing literature,

the seller’s competence in communication is

most often studied and acknowledged in terms

of personal selling skills.

• Definition

– In marketing and sales contexts, intercultural communication occurs when

a message from a buyer (seller) from one culture must be processed by a

seller (buyer) from another culture. (Bush & Ingram, 1996)

(Chakrabarty, Brown, & Widing, 2013; Evans, McFarland, Dietz, & Jaramillo, 2012; Homburg et

al., 2011; Saxe & Weitz, 1982; Weitz & Bradford, 1999).

UEF // University of Eastern Finland Jonna Koponen 11.6.18 5

Personal selling


• Origins: Ancient Greek history documents selling as an exchange

activity. The term ”salesman” appears in the writings of Plato.

• True salespeople who earned their living only by selling appeared

during the Industrial Revolution in England (1760-1840).

• Personal selling is defined as ”personal communication with an

audience through paid personnel of an organization or its agents

in such a way that the audience perceives the communicator’s

organization as being the source of the message.” (Ingram et al.,

2006, p. 19)

– In B2B context a salesperson or sales team interacting with one

or more individuals from another organization.

Why are personal selling skills needed?


• First, salespeople use their personal sales skills to help customers to

assess their needs, offer products that will satisfy customer needs and

encourage them to make satisfactory purchase decisions, (Chakrabarty et al.,

2013; Evans et al., 2012; Saxe & Weitz, 1982).

• Second, salespeople use their personal selling skills to establish trust,

to build commitment and to build a customer relationship (Homburg 2011).

• Personal selling skills are manifested during sales processes, which

require appropriate and effective behaviour from salespeople (Homburg et

al., 2011; Moncrief & Marshall, 2005).

Relationship selling

• Relationship selling approach

focuses on solving customer

problems, providing opportunities

and adding value to the customer’s

business over longer period of time. (Ingram et al. 2006, p. 25)

• Focus is on the customer and customer’s customers

• Need satisfaction, problem solving,consultation

• Trust, joint planning, mutual benefits

• Salesperson needs to build long-term relationships

• Communication is two-way and collaborative


Adaptive selling

• "The practice of adaptive selling is defined

as the altering of sales behaviors during a

customer interaction or across customer

interactions based on perceived information

about the nature of the selling

situation" (Weitz, Sujan, and Sujan 1986).

• Adaptive selling behaviors should improve

the performance of salespeople, since each

customer interaction represents a unique

selling situation requiring the salesperson

to adapt his/her sales message to the

customer. (Weitz, 1981).

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 11.6.18 9


Interpersonal communication

• Interpersonal communication is a process involving a dyad or

small number of people in which actors create meanings

through verbal and nonverbal message behaviors(Baxter & Braithwaite, 2008, 3).

• Interpersonal communication is

– Dynamic process

– Unrepeatable

– Irreversible

– Learned

– Nonsummatime

• People themselves, their relationship, context in which

communication occurs and culture affect the process.

Kuva: https://www.retoriikankesakoulu.fi/puhutaan-ihmisiksi-tyopaikalla/ 10

http://www.retoriikankesakoulu.fi/puhutaan-ihmisiksi-tyopaikalla/

Customer-seller relationship

Professional relationship

– A relationship in which

a seller is an expert in a specific

subject or actions pertaining toB2B

selling compared to a customer.

– Both content and relationship

are always present inhuman

communication.(Relational Communication Theory)

– Evolution via stages.(Dwyer et al. 1987)

Physician,

teacher,

manager,

seller

Patient,

learner,

employee,

customer

Task,

aims,

content

Professional relationship

(Gerlander & Isotalus 2010;Watzlawick, Beavin & Jackson 1967)


Interpersonal communication competence (ICC)

• ICC consists of

- cognitive (knowledge),

- affective (motivation, attitude),

- behavioral (skills) dimensions.

•All dimensions are needed to act

in such a way that the parties

involved perceive to be effective,

appropriate, and ethical.

(see Spitzberg & Cupach, 2002)

Knowledge

SkillsAffective dimension



Personal selling skills in international sales

– Sensitivity towards other cultures

– Curiosity & open-mind

– Ability to adapt

11.6.18 13

International environment adds another layer to communication

– Intercultural communication competence is viewed as crucial in building

trust between partners (Elo et al., 2015).

– Additionally, due to the high-performance expectations in global sales

environments, sellers need the ability to communicate effectively with

people who come from different cultures (Barnes et al., 2015; Hoppner et al., 2015; Bush &

Ingram, 1996; Bush, Rose, Gilbert, & Ingram, 2001).

– Language skills

– Cultural knowledgeKoponen, Julkunen &Akiko

(in process)


Practicing and developing ICC

Aims and objectives

Interaction, communication

exercise

Self-reflection, feedback

New aims and objectives

Life-long learning

More infromation, awareness

See Hargie 2006; Koponen 2012; Kurtz, Silverman & Draper 2005


Self-evaluation

• Evaluate your own interpersonal communication skills

pertaining to the selling situation presented in handout.

• Mark 2-3 skills which you see as your personal strengts

and 2-3 skills which you think are your ares of

development.

• Share your thoughts with a pair.


Seven steps of selling

• Throughout modern selling history, one of the oldest and most

widely accepted paradigms in the sales discipline is commonly

referred to as the seven steps of selling (Dubinsky, 1980/1981).

• These seven steps present the typical sales scenario as composed of

the following:

– (1) prospecting,

– (2) preapproach,

– (3) approach,

– (4) presentation,

– (5) over-coming objections,

– (6) close, and

– (7) follow-up.

11.6.18 16


Sales

process

(Jobber & Lancaster 2009,250;

Homburg 2011)


Personal selling skills during sales process

• Creating trust

• Impression management skills

• Ability to ask appropriate questions

• Listening skills

• Presentation skills

• Argumentation skills

• Negotiation skills

11.6.18 18

Opening

•Take contact

•Create trust

•Create good first

impression and feeling

•Never sell anything


First impression

• Please close your eyes.

• When I ask you to open your eyes,

please look at the picture for 30

seconds.

• What comes to your mind?


Impression management

Impressions are affected by

• Appearance

• Gender

• Height

• Colour

• First sentences

• Gestures, facial expressions

• Enthousiasm and voice control

• Clothes, accessories, tatoos etc.


Need and problem identification

• Information part

– Focus on customer´s problems and

needs

– Write notes

• Discuss; ask, agree and answer

• Types of questions

• Strengthen trust and good feeling with

the customer

• Remember a background work!

• Listen


Types of questions

Type of question Example

Open questions How can I help you?

Closed questions Do you want to try this?

Leading questions What kind of model do you prefer, Lexus

perhaps?

Follow-up and

suplementary

questions

Bensin, diesel, hybrid or electric car? … How

about gears, would you like to have automatic

transmission?



An exercise on listening skills

• Take a pair. Choose which one of you is A and B.

• A = storyteller

• B = listener

• A: Please think what have you bought lately? Tell one

minute about your purchasing experience to B!

• B: Your task is to listen very carefully. After one minute,

you may repeat the story back to A.

11.6.18 25

How can you show that you are listening?


• Concentrate on the other party.

• Maintain eye-contact with the customer.

– Is this appropriate in Japan?

• Comment on what the customer said.

– Oh yes, right, this is important to you…

• Take into consideration the issues raised by the

customer to create discussion.

• Show that you are listening to the customer by voice

and gestures (hmm; nodding your head).

Presentation and demonstration

• Based on the information on a customer´s

needs

• Strengthen trust and good feeling with

the customer

• Remember that customers are different

• Visual elements

• Logical structure, interesting examples

• Something to do (demonstration)

• Practice before presentation


Presentation and demonstration skills


• Adapt your presentation style to a customer’s needs.

Avoid delivering “canned” presentations.

• Demonstrate only the products based on customer’s

needs and interests.

• Discuss with the customers and ask questions.

• Explain the benefits of the product from various

viewpoints.

– …which means that…

– …which enables you to…

Argumentation skills


• Logic

– Sellers need reasoned arguments.

– Facts: research findings etc.

– Explaining causes and effects(consequenses)

– Experiences

• Emotion

– Focus on customer’s needs, wishes, values, and beliefs

• Try to predict customer’s objections.

Argumentation skills


• Reference selling

– Use of satisfied customers to convince the buyer of the

effectiveness of the product.

• Demonstrations

– Allow customers to test the product.

• Guarantees

– Guarantees of product reliability, after-sales / support

service and delivery can build confidence towards the

salesperson’s claims.

• Trial orders (if possible)

Dealing with objections

• Customer is interested to buy if she/he

has objections!

• Listen and answer again and again, you

need to solve all objections.

• Please do not interrupt.

• Be kind.

• Strengthen the feeling that you are on

the same side with the customer.


Negotiation

• Price

– Your limitations

– Customer´s limitations

• Timing

• Payment method

• Advice/support service

• Supplementary products and services

• Strengthen the customer satisfaction


Closing the sale• Main goal is to take a moment!

– Right timing, notice level of

buyer´s purchase intention

• Better presentation, dealing with

objections, and negotiations =

shorter closing!

• You have nothing before closing

– Ask for an order

– Make a summary and ask for an

orderUEF // University of Eastern Finland 11.6.18 33

Follow-up• Contacts with the customer after sales.

– Ask feedback

– Advice, education

– Seasons greetings

• Take care of customer satisfaction

(main goal)

– Possibility to build long-term

relationships.

– Possibility to have more sales.



Thank you for inspiring collaboration!

35

UEF // University of Eastern Finland 36

Thank you for your attention!


ReferencesBooks:

Baxter, L. A. & Braithwaite, D. O. (2008). Engaging theories in interpersonal communication. Multiple perspectives. Los

Angeles: SAGE.

Guenzi, P. & Geiger, S. (ed.). (2011). Sales Management. AMultinational perspective. Palgrave Macmillan. Hampshire. P.

436-462

Jobber, D. & Lancaster, G. (2009). Selling and Sales Management (8th edition). Prentice Hall, Harlow. P: 65-66 , 247-274.

Articles:

Dwyer, F. R., Schurr, P. H. & Oh, S. (1987). Developing buyer-seller relationships. Journal of Marketing, 51(April), 11–27.

Garver, Michael S. and John D. Mentzer (2000), “Salesperson logistics expertise: a proposed contingency framework,”

Journal of Business Logistics, 21, 2,113–132.

Hung, K.-P. & Lin, C.-K. (2013). More communication is not always better? The interplay between effective

communication and interpersonal conflict in influencing satisfaction. Industrial Marketing Management, http://

dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2013.05.002

Weitz, Bart A., Harrish Sujan and Mita Sujan (1986), “Knowledge, motivation and adaptive behavior: a framework for

improving selling effectiveness,” Journal of Marketing, 50, 174−191.

Weitz, Bart A. (1981), “Effectiveness in sales interactions: a contingency framework,” Journal of Marketing, 45, 85–103.

Williams, Alvin J. and John Seminerio (1985), “What buyers like from salesman,” Industrial Marketing Management, 14,

2, 75–78.

personal selling skills in international sales...•comment on what the customer said. –oh yes,...

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